Device for facilitating stoker installations



R. F. GRAHAM 2,452,454

DEVICE FOR FACILITATING STOKER' INSTALLATIONS Filed April 16, 1945FIG-:1

int enfor- E OY F. GRAHAM by: I AI orpey Patented Oct. 26, 1948 DEVICEFOR FACILITATING STOKER INSTALLATION S Roy F. Graham, University City,Mo, assignor to Stok-A-Fire Company, Inc., University City, Mo, acorporation of Missouri Application April 16, 1945, Serial No. 588,640

2 Claims.

This invention relates to stokers generally, but more particularly tostokers of the kind that are intended to be used and installed infurnaces already in place, and has for its principal object theproduction of such a stoker that will have means associated therewithand readily adjustable to most conveniently install the stoker infurnaces of a Wide range of sizes and shapes.

Another important object of this invention is to so construct a stokerof the kind described, that the retort or hearth end of the same willhave elements associated therewith and carried thereby and adjustablymovable relative thereto, so that the spacing apart between the freeends of said elements and said hearth may be changed at will at the timeof installation into a furnace, and whereby the ends of said elementswill engage the interior wall of practically any size and shape offurnace that is apt to be encountered in course of installation of thestoker.

A further object of my invention is to so construct a stoker of the kinddescribed, that the hearth may be provided with rods pivotally carriedthereby at spaced intervals about the periphery of said hearth, so thatsaid rods are swingable in a horizontal plane to various angles relativeto one another, to snugly engage at their outer ends with the innersurface of the enclosing wall of the furnace, and when a layer ofrefractory material has been applied on said rods, the hearth will besupported in place firmly and permanently.

An added object of my invention is to so form the adjustable supportingrods for the hearth, that their free ends will be shaped into hooks thatextend upwardly toward the top of the retort, so that when a screen issuperimposed on said spaced rods and a layer of cementitious materialapplied 'thereover to extend to adjacent the top of said retort, thehooks will be embedded and interlocked within the body of cement to moreefliciently hold them together as a structural unit, and prevent thelikelihood of accidental displacement of the parts thereat.

The invention has among its other objects the production of a stoker ofthe kind described, that will be relatively simple and easy to install,and which will be otherwise satisfactor and efiicient for use whereverdeemed applicable.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction shown anddescribed will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which thisinvention appertains, as will be apparent from the disclosures hereingiven.

To this end, my invention consists in the novel construction,arrangement, construction and combination of parts herein shown anddescribed, and the method of using the same, as will be more clearlypointed out in the followin specifications.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters represent like orcorresponding parts throughout the views,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a stoker with its hearth end installedwithin a furnace, some of the parts being shown in section; and

Figure 2 is a top plan View, partly in section, of the same, but notshowing the cement in place.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein I have illustrateda preferred embodiment of my invention, there is shown a stoker of anysuitable shape and construction, having its coal or other solid fuelhopper I at one end and its retort or hearth 2 at the other end, saidhearth formed with an outwardly projecting radial flange l3.

A casing 3 interconnects said hopper and hearth and the coal isautomatically fed to the latter from said hopper by any suitable meanssuch as a conveyor screw, for example, rotatably driven by any source ofmotive energy such as a motor or the like. The coal is pushed along thecasing and is discharged upwardly at the top of the hearth in thewell-known manner, and in order to more eliiciently support combustion,air may be forced through the casing, independently of the coal, andassociating therewith at a point adjacent the top of the hearth.

These stokers are especially intended for use Where a furnace is alreadyin place, in order to save the expense of constructing a combustionchamber anew, and inasmuch as these already ex" isting furnaces may beof practically any size and shape, the problem of securing the hearthend of the stoker within the same is an everpresent one. Obviously extracutting and fitting, or alterations generally, while out on the job, areespecially expensive, and it is in order to minimize the time and laborof installation into the furnace and cost of extra or added parts forthe same, that I have so constructed the stoker that this job is rapid,easy and of minimum expense for labor and material.

Although the furnace may be round or square, big or small, or irregularin transverse cross-section the hearth end of my stoker may be readilyinstalled into plac in all situations, as will now be set forth. 7

A series or rods 4, 4 are movably secured at the retort or hearth end 2of the stoker, said rods being arranged about said hearth at spacedintervals about the periphery of the latter and at a suitable distancebelow the top face of the latter, so as to permit the placement of asuitable thickness of refractory cement 5 between said rods to a slightdistance below the said top face of the hearth, say, about an inch belowsaid top face and preferably to contact the under face of said flange13, so that said hearth and cement are interlocked as a fixed unit. Acollar 61 may be formed to be removably seated or mounted on said hearth.2 to receive said rod ends, and may be provided with apertures throughwhich said rods may beinserted, and the outer ends of said rods at saidhearth, may be threaded so as to adjustably receive tightening nuts 7,if desired.

These rods may be swung in substantially a horizontal plane and heldadjusted in place there after, and the outer ends of said rods mayproject outwardly more or less radially as indicated, said outermostends of the rods formed into hooks 18 which are preferably bent upwardlyand thence inwardly as shown, to thereby enable them to be grasped attheir outer ends and swung into con tact with the furnace wall, saidhook ends also serving to more eficiently interlock with said layer ofcement 5 applied thereabove.

In installing my improved stoker, the latte is moved adjacent thefurnace (which has been prepared in the well-known manner to receivesuch installation, by removing any interfering parts or elementspreviously in place in the furnace), and said hearth 2 is inserted intoplace within the furnace so that the vertical axis of the hearthsubstantially coincides with the vertical axis of the furnace combustionchamber, as shown.

The collar 5 with the rods carried thereby may be mounted on said hearthin advance of or during or after such insertion of the hearth into thefurnace, depending upon the conditions at hand, and which manner is mostconvenient for the installing workman at the time. A support 3 may bearranged beneath said hearth to hold the latter at the desiredelevation, and screws W are provided for adjustably levelling up thehearth to proper height. This levelling means may be either temporaryand removed after the installation has been completed, or if desired,said levelling means may be permanently left in place.

The rods 4,4 are manually adjust-ably swung so that their outer or freeends engage or jam the interior of the furnace wall, and the nuts 7 maybe tightened home after said adjustment, to prevent any likelihood ofaccidental displacement of said rods thereafter.

Foot rests H may be provided beneath the hopper i to adjust the stokerso that it is level and to insure proper operation of the various stokerparts.

After the rods have been swung into engagement with the interior of thefurnace thereat so as to substantially jam and lock the retort or hearthin place, a sheet or screen 12 is prepared and placed on said rodsbetween said retort and furnace wall, and then the layer of refractorycement 5 is poured or otherwise applied onto said screen to a height ordepth to reach to slightly below the top face of said retort, say, toabout an inch below the latter.

This mass of cement will have the hooked ends of the rods embeddedtherein and will tend to hold the rods and the top of said hearth spreadapart vertically, to more firmly interlock said members in place andprevent displacement of the same. The cement will seal off the hearth sothat the sole passage for air and coal is upwardly through the hearth,and the stoker will operate in a most efiicient manner.

It may be mentioned at this point that the full lines of the supportingrods, as shown in Fig. 2, illustrate the installation of the stoker intoa furnace having the circular transverse cross-section of body shown,while the dotted line positions of said rods indicate their adjustedpositions to fit the hearth into a furnace having a squared transversecross-sectional body. Other cross-section shapes of furnace combustionchambers would require that the rods be adjusted otherwise than shown,and to that purpose the rods may be swung in the horizontal plane, atangles that will bring their outer ends into snug engagement with theinner surface of the bounding wall of the furnace.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that variousimmaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing fromthe spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to he understood aslimiting myself to the exact form, arrangement, construction andcombination of parts, or the method set forth, except as limited by thestate of the invention to which this invention appertains, and theclaims hereunto appended.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a stoker having a hearth for substantiallypermanent installation within a furnace and adapted to be spaced fromthe interior wall of the latter, of a series of .rods pivotally carriedat said hearth and provided with upwardly extending hooks at their freeends for grasping thereat for manipulation to enable said series of rodsto be movable in substantially a horizontal plane to adjustably vary thedistances between their free ends and said hearth, whereby the hooks maybe brought into contact with the interior wall of differently sized andshaped furnaces.

2. A furnace installation comprising a stoker having a retort at one endfor placement within a furnace and having a radial flange adjacent itstop, and rods each pivotally carried at one of their ends by said retortso that the other ends may be adjust-ably swun about said pivots toengage the interior wall of said furnace, said rods being mounted belowthe top of said retort so that .a layer of cement may be superimposedonsaid rods from the interior wall of saidfurnace to said retort and of aheight to substantially said radial flange to anchor the retort inplace.

ROY F. GRAHAM.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 908,805 Rogers Jan. 5, 19091,035,722 Mugler et al. Aug. 13, 1912 1,615,789 Fisher Jan. 25, 192.71,842,359 Cross Jan. 19., 1932 1,858,683 Parker May 17, 19.32 1,910,233Blair May 23, 1933 2,123,397 Bohmker July 12, .1938 2,143,898 OstrinJan. 17, 19.39 2,207,992 Steele July 16, 19.40 2,358,750 Walker et al.Sept. 19, 1944

